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THE ENGAGEMENT MARRIAGE is still in 2017 the world's most popular social ...

THE ENGAGEMENT MARRIAGE is still in 2017 the world's most popular social institution. In England, especially, more people are marrying more often than ever before. For both men and women the danger of being 'left on the shelf has been steadily diminishing since the start of the century, as indeed has the average age at which both sexes will make their first marriage.

Not only has the quantity of marriages made in the U.K. each year increased, so, many experts believe, has the quality of those marriages. It used to be said that 'marriages are made in heaven'. This can never have been more true than in the last quarter of the 20th century when the 'love match' has become the rule rather than the exception. Indeed the arranged marriage is so rare as to be virtually restricted to those members of immigrant communities who cling precariously to their own cultures rather than accept the customs of their host nation. Today couples look forward to sharing not just a home and an income, but a whole new life-style.

Modern wives-and husbands-have to accept the pooling of the often considerable salaries they previously spent purely on the gratification of personal whims. Husbands can expect to be co-opted to help with household chores, especially in the early stages of a marriage when both husband and wife / partner are likely to be bread-winners. When babies begin to arrive, most modern fathers will want to share the chores, as well as the joys, of raising the family, the timing of which was probably a plan carefully discussed before-hand by both parents.